Chief Munkonge of the Bemba speaking people of Kasama says 15 northern chiefs are angry with President Edgar Lungu and they want to meet him so that they can scold him for certain decisions he has made.

And Chief Munkonge says there is no development in his chiefdom simply because he is related to UPND vice-president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.

Speaking when GBM and other UPND officials paid a courtesy call at his palace, Sunday, Chief Munkonge said the 15 traditional leaders were opposed to the draft land policy and changes on the national registration cards.

“The power of being a Zambia is the NRC. The face which is in front, at the back it shows which chiefdom you come from. Maybe I didn’t study well, maybe this Constitution says that anyone can be President. Because now, going forward, we can have a president from elsewhere coming here with money and buys an NRC in a clever manner and says ‘I am standing’. A person coming from a chiefdom, even when they die, the companies will want to know where this person comes from. This cannot work. It is the same as getting land and saying it is all in the hands of the president. It can never work because land is what constitutes royalty under the Zambian citizens. Now if you get away the powers of the chief, how will people live? What people do today, because you people from the town don’t understand, most people know their chief, they don’t know the president. They just know that the last person they can run to is the chief. Now if you think everyone is a ‘yes yes bwana’, three quarters of this country is primitive people who live in the bush and they don’t know anything. All they know is to take all their problems to the chief,” Chief Munkonge said.

“As we speak, I have spoken to 15 chiefs. They are advising President Lungu to say we should meet so that we tell them what we are thinking. These 15 chiefs are saying we need to meet with Lungu to tell him what we are thinking, they should not see us as enemies, we are not enemies. And other chiefs are saying “tulefwaya ba Lungu tulongane so that tubakalipile. Balebomfya word yaku kalipila’ pantu bana fye belangalila kuli ifwe (we want to meet with President Lungu so that we can shout at him because he is too young, he cannot be playing with us.). The chiefs are angry and you cannot play with them.”

And Chief Munkonge lamented that there was no development in his chiefdom.

“Tapaba development ili yonse mubufumu bwakwa munkonge pamulandu wakwa GBM. Ubushiku bakomfwa ati GBM nafwa elyo bakatwafwa. Nganati njilishanye, ati nine UPND. Kanshi ninshi nine UPND…nomba GBM mwana wandi bushe kuti nacita shani.Cawama banjita UPND tetinsakamane. (There is no development in my chiefdom because of GBM. The day they will hear that GBM has died, that’s when they will help us. When I complain, they say I am UPND, fine, I am UPND then! I don’t care even if they call me UPND because GBM is my son and there is nothing I can do),” Chief Munkonge said.

“Nshilefwaya nokutintana nabantu. Ngamwati mumone inkalata batuletela kwati balelembela abaice.(When you look at some of the letters these people in government write to us…it is very sad.It is as though they are writing to kids). Nga twailishanya pa ma e-voucher, imyasukile tayawama (When we complain on the administration of e-voucher, they respond in a sacastic way). Kanshi mulemwenako tekwesha ukuyatole inshila yabanenu iyabipa (Never follow the mistakes of PF when you take over leadership).”

And UPND GBM said he was saddened about the lack of development in Chief Munkonge’s area.

“Elyo kabili mwebena Munkonge,naumfwa ububi ukweba ati nabamupata elyo mulecula pamulandu waine.”(I am so touched that people in Chief Munkonge’s village have been neglected because of me). Ala Mwebena Munkonge kaili nimwe mwebabikilepo nomba nabalaba. Nomba Mwebena Munkonge ndelomba ukweba ati Muncite support filya fine Mwansapotele inshiku ishafumako pakweba ati ba Hakainde naba UPND bakamulubule (we need your usual support as UPND ,let us support Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND for a better life),” said GBM.